The point is whatever we choose for ourselves. Just because we eventually die doesn’t mean living isn’t worth it. I don’t care that one day I’ll eventually die, I enjoy living now.

In a word: Insecurity.

Matt used to he a firebrand on the Atheist Experience. He’s moved on to The Line show and continues with call-ins.

His “meanness” has been refined and aimed strictly at bad faith actors who call in. People who are honest and straightforward don’t get yelled at.

Is it the sweetness that you’re addicted to? The fizz itself maybe? There are drinks that are sweet yet not fizzy, and there are drinks that are fizzy yet not sweet. If you can find out, you can begin to substitute less unhealthy options. Then eventually quit entirely.

Maybe instead of blaming Google, Reddit should stop pandering to Nazis and condoning zionists committing genocide.

I left Twitter sometime after Elon bought it. The content in my feed drastically changed and was filled with racism, Nazi glorifiction, and child prawn. Reporting these posts did nothing, the automated respone system kept claiming there was no violation. So I deleted my account and never came back. I also actively avoid clicking on Twitter post links.

I didn’t quit Reddit, but it quit me. Reddit perma-banned me for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. An admin even called me a “disgusting Nazi simp” because I opposed the genocide. The amount of admin and mod gaslighting & abuse is at an all time high.

I don’t do the Meta stuff because of all the cross platform account linking. I still have a FB account, but it’s not my real name, it lacks personal info, and it’s only to stay connected with family and IRL friends.

I got banned from Tiktok preemptively and I never learned why. I didn’t even have an account, but when I went to make one on my work phone, it said I’m banned. Weird. I tried making an account using my home phone as a test and it worked, but I just deleted it afterward without posting anything.

There really needs to be a digital bill of rights or something.

The people around me are more concerned with the insanity going on in our government than the movie theaters.

A power efficient e-ink laptop.

A laptop with a colossal battery life, I don’t care how chonky it is.

A smart watch that can do much more than the simple crap they do now. Larger is fine, maybe a smart bracer.

Multitools that are specifically designed for trades. It’s not tech, I would just love to have a multitool with specific tools for welding.

Some kind of wrist device where I can copy a file from one electronic device and paste it onto another device with hand gestures.

A Clockwork uConsole device that’s a bit more powerful and can use m.2. Those things are neat little kits, but they’re alway always always sold out of the good version. I wouldn’t mind a laptop in this format.

Doomsday prepping is the answer. Start building up a large supply of non-perishable foods, properly sealed for long term storage.

Have a wide variety of different food storage options. Having nothing to eat but rice will drive you insane (that’s not hyperbole, it’s serious).

Not just food storage, have tons of medical and hygeine priducts stored up as well. Things like toilet paper, toothpaste, wet wipes, ibuprophin, tums, etc. Assume there will be no stores or money in the future, plan acordingly.

Have all of your important documents in paper form. Keep all contact information, passwords, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and other important info on physical paper. There’s a strong possibility the internet will go down for a long period of time.

If possible, download Kiwik. Within the software, you can download all of wikipedia so that you have an accessable offline copy. It’s about 125gb in size.

Start downloading stuff you don’t want to lose. If you have a youtuve video ripper, start ripping videos on how to do things like repair your own car and other repair tutorials. Download videos and tutorials on how to cook if you don’t already know how. Also how to start and maintain a veggie garden.

Have a plan for the electric grid going down for a long period of time. Folding solar panels are a great way to keep phones and battery banks charged.

I could go on all day, but basucally you should prepare for a total government collapse. Internet, electricity, plumbing, trash removal, hospitals, police & fire rescue, depletion of groceries and store goods, etc. I have do doubt we’ll see these things either partially or completely collapse and fail.

It runs respectably well. I’m not picky, but nothing I’ve seen on the steam deck suggests it’s a gimmick ir anything. It runs just fine.

Honestly, the only reason I’m still on Facebook is because of my local temple. If we could host a private group somewhere else with the same functionality, we’d jump ship in a heartbeat.

No, it sounds like your brother is actually the asshole.

If we’re talking the average working class voter, I hold a great amount of sympathy for them. I really do understand where they’re coming from.

The Democrats are corrupt as hell and aren’t doing a damn thing for the American people. Pre-Trump Republicans are corrupt as hell and aren’t doing a damn thing for the American people. The country is legitimately falling apart and there’s no one to turn to.

Here comes this guy out of nowhere who’s never been in politics and thus not beholden to their corrupt schemes. He’s promising to tear down the whole damn system that isn’t working for the average American. He recognizes and acknowledges the plight of working class America. He’s claiming that it needs to break completely before it can be repaired.

This is the reasoning behind my little brother supporting Trump. He’s so desperate for real change that he’s willing to overlook a lot of Trump’s bad behaviors. To my brother, Trump is a useful wrecking ball, a bulldozer coming to forcefully wipe away everything wrong with politics.

Of course, Trump has no real intentions of fixing anything. He’s just there to loot the government and shield himself from the law. All of the right wing supporters, politicians, preachers, and business execs are just stepping stones.

Unsurprising.

Surprisingly, my most played game last year was Powerwash Simulator. The game runs on a potato, yet I’m using an expensive steam deck to play it. Like, a lot.

My other games were:

2. Final Fantasy 14

3. Cyberpunk

4. 7 Days to Die

5. Fallout 4

The fakest man alive turns out to be a fake gamer? I’m shocked! Shocked I say!

Reality has a left wing bias.

Its a joke, but not really. If you base your government on the facts of reality, it tends to be perceived as “left wing.”

Why where you there? What was it like? How did you do later in life? And did it have any effect as a adult?

I shouldn’t have been in special education, but I was. Home life was a nightmare. My mom and dad would constantly fight and take it out on me.

That meant once I left school for home, there was zero chance of ever getting any homework assignments done. I would get straight A’s on tests, yet would get all zeros on homework assignments.

The school wouldn’t listen, nor cared about, the abuse going on at home. They were always short staffed and short on budget, so special ed was their bandaid solution.

The special ed teachers ptotested time and time again as I clearly didn’t belong there. Sometimes the class would read aloud a book together. We would go in a circle, each reading a paragraph. Everyone else struggled to get through it, I breezed through it.

The teachers wouldn’t let me participate anymore as I was unintentionally embarrassing the other students. There was no internet or smartphones at the time. So I spent nearly all of high school, reading any and every book I could get my hands on, silently.

Do you think that you would keep your integrity and use your money for the greater good, or that you would be corrupted by your power?

I suppose it’s a matter of perspective. Very few people in the world ever see themselves as actually evil. Every villain is the hero in their own story.

But if we recognize basic truths about people’s preferences, I think a greater good can be achieved. Everyone wants a place to call home and good food on the table. Everyone wants good health and to have a sense of purpose or meaning to their lives.

This is universal, regardless of race, sex, gender, nationality, language (I can’t include religion as some religions demand the oppression & extermination of others).

I would teach Shop (that was still a thing when I was in high school in the 90s). I’m really good at making practical things, and making repairs. I would love to teach the basics like how to change a tire and whatnot.